Introduction Increased levels of proinflammatory markers have been reported in tissues of individuals with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). We hypothesize that inflamed dental pulp tissues of individuals with previous history of COVID-19 may present a differential inflammatory gene expression profile in comparison with individuals who never had COVID-19. Materials and Methods Dental pulp tissues were collected from 27 individuals referred for endodontic treatment due to symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. Of these, 16 individuals had a history of COVID-19 (6 months to 1 year post infection) and 11 individuals had no previous history of COVID-19 (controls). Total RNA from pulp tissue samples was extracted and subjected to RNA sequencing for comparison of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) among groups. DEGs showing log2(fold change) > 1 or < −1, and P < .05 were considered significantly dysregulated. Results RNA sequencing identified 1461 genes as differentially expressed among the groups. Of these, 311 were protein coding genes, 252 (81%) that were upregulated and 59 (19%) that were downregulated in the COVID group compared with controls. The top upregulated genes in the COVID group were HSFX1 (4.12-fold change) and LINGO3 (2.06-fold change); significantly downregulated genes were LYZ (−1.52-fold change), CCL15 and IL8 (−1.45-fold change). Conclusions Differential gene expression in dental pulp tissues of COVID and non-COVID groups suggests potential contribution of COVID-19 on dysregulating inflammatory gene expression in the inflamed dental pulp.
【저자키워드】 Inflammation, Gene Expression, COVID, dental pulp,